New, environmentally friendly, rare earth carboxylate corrosion inhibitors for mild steel

Four recently synthesized rare earth 3-(4-methylbenzoyl)propanoate (mbp) compounds (RE = La, Ce, Nd and Y) were evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in 0.01 M NaCl. At a concentration of 0.25 mM all the compounds showed some level of inhibition after 30 min immersion, with the Y(mbp)3complex giving the largest reduction in corrosion current density, from 1.92 μA/cm2for the control sample to 0.25 μA/cm2for the Y based inhibitor. All the RE(mbp)3inhibitors acted predominantly as anodic inhibitors, showing little effect on the cathodic reaction after 30 min. Surface analysis after 6 h immersion using FTIR and EDS detected the presence of a thin film containing inhibitor components on all surfaces, thus accounting for the reduced corrosion rate, with the Y(mbp)3compound having the most significant effect on corrosion and showing the most uniform surface coverage.